Breville Precision Brewer Drip Coffee Machine, Thermal Carafe, One Size, Brushed Stainless Steel

Yes, this is an expensive coffee maker. Yes, it is worth the pricetag. This is going to be lengthy review, but I really had to dig deep to decide to spend $300 on a coffee maker and wanted to weigh my options with you. For me, I only seriously considered 3 makers: the Breville (which I bought), the Technivorm Moccamaster, and the Bona Vita.I love coffee, and several other makers (french press, espresso machine, etc.) this is hands down the best maker. I had gotten really mad with drip brew makers over the years. I had 2 Mr. Coffee in college, since have used two different Cuisinart makers. This maker has restored my faith in good drip-brew coffee. I recommend 2 different sources to help you shop for a coffee maker. James Hoffman on YouTube did a review of this maker that really persuaded me to get this particular maker. America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Gearheads reviewed their coffee makers (although a year or so before this particular product was launched). Between those 2 sources I was in between the Technivorm Mocca and the Breville Precision Brewer. The America's Test Kitchen Review of drip brew coffee makers is what inspired me to look at a higher end product, as they identified so many of my issues with previous makers that I have used. America's Test Kitchen also cited the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and their "Golden Cup" standards for a good cup of coffee, these include consistency of temperature of brew water and ground coffee to water ratios. My big issue with the Mr. Coffee and Cuisinart products is that they just do not hold enough grounds to make a great pot of coffee (our Cuisinarts had to be loaded lightly to avoid having the grounds spill over into the pot and water tank). America's Test Kitchen identified the ground capacity along with water temperature issues as a key in making a consistently good cup of coffee. Again, even though they did not review this specific coffee maker, the details of their segment on this helped me with the decision process, especially pointing me towards the SCAA Golden Cup info.Without getting into a deep comparison, here is why I chose the Breville over the Technivorm and Bona Vita. The primary factor was the volume of brewed coffee. The Moccamaster and Bona Vita make 40oz of coffee. I live by myself now, and 40oz is a perfect amount for me, but should I have guests over, 40oz could go pretty quick, and who have to make multiple pots of coffee... The Breville will make up to 60oz at a time and has the option to make less coffee that is still of high quality for 40oz. So this was the biggest draw for me. I personally drink 2-3 12-14 oz cups a morning, so any of these makers would be enough, but I wanted the extra capacity. I mentioned that Breville has an option to make more volume of coffee or less. This is achieved with a cone filter insert (that is included) that fits a standard #4 cone filter paper. Breville recommends this insert for 40oz (8 cups) or less of coffee, and you simply remove the cone filter holder insert and use either the included gold mesh basket filter or large basket filters.Breville also offered an option that the Moccamaster did not (unsure of BonaVita) and that was the option to do a delayed brew, I can load the grounds before bed and wake to freshly brewed coffee (I have used this feature once, but it is nice). The Breville adds a little more options and customization to the mix compared to the Technivorm. The Breville offers 5 preset brew options: FAST, GOLD, STRONG, OVER ICE, COLD BREW. It also offers the option to tweak and adjust and create a personalized brew setting manually adjusting temperature, speed of brew, soak time, etc. The GOLD Brew Setting meets the parameters set forth by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America), the Technivorm meets these standards as well. The Technivorm has an on/off switch. The friend who owns one has attached a timer to the machine so he can load it at bedtime.Having had hands on both the Technivorm and the Breville, there is a good build quality on both products, neither feels cheap. The Technivorm is more solid, and I would expect that it will last much longer due to the simplicity and quality. The warranty is also better for the Technivorm. Ultimately the ability to adjust the settings and the 20oz of extra brew capacity sold me on the Breville.I have had this product for a month and a half and still love it. I don't think that I will ever be able to go back to a cheap coffee maker. I have used this with my favorite variety, some local varieties, but I have also used my favorite cheap coffee (Wholefoods 365 Pacific Rim $11 for 1.5lbs). This really does elevate coffee. I previously had only used the hot plate and glass carafe brewers, and I do think the insulated carafe helps significantly.Bottom line: do you spend $300 on this coffee maker? Yes, if you drink and use your coffee maker almost daily, I think that this is worth the investment. Especially if you are a bit of a coffee snob. If you simply want coffee to taste warm and brown or use Folgers, I would look at a less expensive machine. If you do not need timed brew, and more than 40oz capacity, I would choose the Technivorm over this product. If you just cannot spend 300 on a brewer, the Bona Vita is good option.

I spent months reviewing coffee machines and settled on this. I bought the pour over adapter separately, and it arrived about a week after the coffee machine. Our initial impressions of the coffee maker were good. It's very nice looking and the basic coffee features worked well. It made a very tasty cup of coffee.The main knob seemed flimsy and the menu was not intuitive. Once I got the pour over device, I basically pressed a bunch of buttons until it started, because none of it made sense. We found out later, from the Breville Customer Support Person, that the reason the packaging box and directions didn't match our machine exactly is because the packaging and documentation we received was for the European version of the machine, and the machine itself was for the US!The main frustrations occurred when we received the pour over adapter. This is hard to describe, but there is a flange underneath the brew basket that has a ball shape on the end. When you use the carafe for regular coffee, this ball and flange connects the brew basket with the carafe.When using the pour over adapter, this ball and flange rises during the brew cycle as the water empties from the tank. By the time the tank is nearly empty, the ball has risen high enough that it knocks the pour over device and Hario Dripper to one side, titling it to the point that water starts to spill out. There is no obvious way to stop this and it renders the pour over feature useless.We contacted Breville Customer Service. It took 4 hours for them to answer! The rep, Cecilia, was very pleasant and helpful. She set up a video call so I could show her the problem instead of trying to explain it to her. She saw the problem and set up a return label, which went seamlessly. About a week later, the replacement arrived. I anxiously set it up and tested the pour over, and it has the same malfunction as the first one did! In our experience, it was a 100% failure rate!We tried to call Breville Customer Service again, and as of this writing, nearly 4 hours later, have not received our return call. While we waited, we read the reviews more thoroughly and saw at least one that described exactly the same issue. There were other disappointing reviews about the reliability of the machine, poor customer service, etc. We read that Breville only had a store credit policy, rather than a refund, and decided then and there to stop wasting our time.I contacted Amazon, requested a refund, and promptly tool it back to UPS. You may get lucky and get a machine that works right from day one, but you may have any number of problems. The machine may work fine for a few months until the return time or warranty runs out. My advice is to keep looking for a coffee maker and forget about this pretty face!